Rail anchor



H. G. WARR 818,022

AIL ANCHOR Aug. 11, 1931.

Filed June 13. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 11, 1931 STATESParana car es WARR, OF PARK RIDGE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'I'O THE'P & M(.'IOI Bi1IZPA1\TY OF o I CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.RAIL ANCHOR I 7 Application filed June 13,

f-My .'inifention zrelates to rail anchors .la'daptedito embracethe'baseportion of railroad .rails andfbear" against the stationary p arjt, of arOa'd bed, to resist longitudinal iii-m vement i t e ra Qneotitlieprincipal objects of the inven- ,t-i on..is toprovi la railanchor adapted to v,gri'p1ione, flange. of a rail base by movement ot alockinghend portion into locking en- N10,: gagement w'itliijthe otherflange of the rail base, thelatter portion of the anchor being :providedwithrcapacity for vertical move- ,Jnent relative to therailwithoutdanger of V .dise igagingthe ,lock'ingjmeans.

15 ,QA-nother objectis to, provide an anchorof the above. character. vin which the locking end thereof is provided, with a series .ofshoulders, one of which provides a locking engagement with the rail andanother of 20.,which provides a clearance between the edge of the railbase flange engaged and a part o fg the locking endof the device wherebyithe locking end .may have vertical sliding faction relative to theedgeot the base flange. ,25.1n this com ection I contemplate also alockingendwhich may be flexed outwardly from the railbaseduring itsapplicationto the lrail tovpermit one or more of the said lockingshoulders toratchet over a corner poreatioflnot' .thebase flange andthereby lock the anchor .aga inst accidental disengagement.

' ;..A11otl1er a-ndmorespeciflc object .is to pro vide in. combinationwith a downwardly curved body portion, a locking end adapted to beflexedoutwardly into locking engagement with the rail base and to provide alsoa clearance shoulder adjacent the surface for bearing against thevertical edge portion of the rail, whereby the downwardly curved portionof the anchor is held out of engagement with the adjacent edge of therail base during any vertical movement of the anchor, for example, whenthe downwardly curved portion is pressed against the ballast of theroad-bed. In this'connection I contemplate also the provision of abearing surface of relatively large area for hearing against thevertical edge portion of the rail base, which exerts a spring griptransverse- .ly ot the rail, in addition to the vertical grip 1929.Serial No.(370,608.

the top andbottom surfaces of one base flange of a rail, by verticalmovement of the other end of theianchoifi'land in which the said otherend is flexed outwardly from the edge of the rail base during itsapplicationto a rail and is provided with a series of rail base engagingnotches adapted to accommodate the anchor device to rail bases ofdifferent sizes, j I

Other objects of the invention will appear i from a detaileddescriptionof theembodiments shown in the accompanying drawings; v A

In the drawings j 550 Fig. 1 is alplan viewofa rail anchorconstructed inaccordance with my invention applied to the base flange ofa railroadrail in position to bear against a vertical face or" an adjacent crosstie. (5

Fig. 2 is a side \viewof the rail anchor shown in Fig. 1, the baseflange of the rail being shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the anchor inone positionwhich it assumes go during its application to a rail.

Fig. 4 shows the-sameanchor as illustrated in Fig.- 2 applied to a rail,the base portion of which is of a different size from that iilustratedin Fig. 2. 55

Fig. 5 illustrates another form of the in vention adapted to be appliedto rail bases of difl'erent sizes, and

Fig. 6 is a view of the modified construction illustrating the manner inwhich it is 90 applied to a rail.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive of the drawings, 10 designatesthe base portion of a railroad railand 11 is one of the cross ties onwhich the rail is supported. The95 rail anchor shown in these figuresofthe' drawings consists of a spring metal bar, the body portion 12 ofwhich extends across beneath the rail base in a position to 'bearagainst the cross tie. One end of the bar is 10? are moved into grippingengagement "with .the top and bottom surfaces of the; rail base-:- by aclockwise turi nng: mo ve1nent of the jaw, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3.The said gripping action of the jaws is produe'ed Lbysi.

swinging the other end 16 of the bar upwardly from the posit'i on sliown in"Fig.-3 tb'- the position shown Fig; 2, ;The under rail'portion 12o'f the bar'is preferably: bowed downwardly to provide a tieabutting'por- 1 tiQn ,\Vh;l1 l1 i1l:b8ar against {the cross "asubstantial distance} helow'the of the rail baseand to also provide theend 16 with suflicient resilienceto 'peiim it iit 'to be I readilyflexedoutwardly relative to the edge of the; rail during the upward swingingmovement of the bar. Preferably,';'the end portion 16 i s-so disposed'tothe hook l3 that it isnecessary to flek the end outwardlyrelover thebase fiange 1810fv the rail. quently, when the end 16 is engage thevertical edge of the base flflligelfi rail, 51 sprin-g'gripisexertedtransversely the rail addition thegri p' :exerted by' the jaws 14 and"15onthe top'aiid bottom ative to therail base to'engage "th'e s aidsurfaces of the rail. The outward flexing of the end 16 is effected byafsurface 1 6a, which slides over the edg efjo f the railbase during ithebar. N 1 i In order to hold'jthe a' nc'hor locked in'its appliedposition, the end 16' isprovided with invention the spring end: ofthefanchor is flexed outwardly relative to the e'dge'of, the

a series of shoulders 19; and 21goneer more of which ratchet-s overand'engages the marginal upper surface the base flan go 18 during the uward wingm move of the body, [The size of the rail which the anchor is'ap.]t lied id'etern which of the said shouldersengages the up percorner of the base w hen the anchor'is in i 1'. its ful y appliedposition, Y-Vhen the anchor and thickness shown in Figs 2andi3 theanchor will bdsufliciently tighten the said base when the shoulder 19snaps over the in per corner of the base; In such event the shoulder 20provides a clearancebetween the flexible end portion 16 of the aDCliOIfilnfl the vertical edge of the rail. It will be observed that withthe clearance prowided by the shoulder 20, the end 16 may be moved asubstantial distance upwardly from'tlie applied position, shown 1n Fig.2, withouting the curved surface 22 of the body to come into contactwith the lower corner 23 of the rail base and thereby avoid outwardflexing of said shoulder relative to'the upper e p d wing ngi ermar t es 'form of rail anchor'adapted for engagecorner of the rail base whenthe body of the anchor is pressed down upon the ballast of the road bed.

The series of shoulders 19, 2O and 21 make it practicable to apply theanchor, herein (shown, to base flanges of different sizes and 'at' thesame time permlt upward movement of'the'end 16 relative to the rail basewlthout;outw ard flexing thereof when the bowed -portion,l2 is presseddownwardly on the ballast of the road-bed.

nln'lFig. & I have shown the anchor of Fig. 2 applied to a rail base 24,which is someivha't wider 'andthinner than the rail base shown in Fig.2. In this application of the anchor thei end 16Imu'st be raisedsom'ewhat higher than" shown in 2,to produce the desired grip of thejawsv 14" and 15'on"the base flange 25. The proportions of the"anchor-are such that the shoulder 20 snaps oven the upper edge of therailfba'se to"ldck'the anchorin its rail gripping'position, andtheshoulder 21' provides clearance between the adjacent edge of 'the'baseflange ofthe rail to avoid contact of the curved surface 22 of:

the anchor with .the lower corner26 of the "rail base, in a mannerpreviously described. The 'seriesof shoulders 19,20 and 21 are sopositioned in the 'drawin'gsasVto jprovide relative wide bearingsurfaces 27 and 28"for engagement with'the vertical edge j 'ugrace oftherail. The 'width'of these surfaces and likewise the 2 number "of shoul-'der's e'mployed may be varied to suit the used. v a v p i In'Figslband6 I have'shown' a modified conditions under-which the anchor may bementwith rails having base' flanges of different sizes. In this embodimentof the rail baseb y forcing the said spring ends downwardly, instead ofupwardly; as pre- 'viously described. The embodiment shown and 6consists preferably of an under rail portion 29, f or1ne'd at one endwith'ahook 30,]providing upper and lower "a'ws"31 and 32; respectively,forengageapplied to a rail baseflang'e 'o f the widtl'i ment with thetop and bottom surfaces of one base flange of a rail. The other end ofthe bar is bent upwardly to provide a resilient upstanding arm 33, whichis provided at its upper end with a series of, notches 34, 35, forengagement with different sized base flanges. The inner face 36 of thearm 33 is inclined relative to the vertical edge 'of the rail base andfunctions as a cam to force the arm 33 outwardly relative to the edge ofthe rail base when thesaid arm is pressed downwardly across the baseflange. The portion of the arm intervening between the notches 3 1 and35 is provided with a cam surface 36a which rides over the edge 01 therail base when the anchor is applied to a rail of the size indicated inthe dotted lines in Fig. 5.

In applying this modified type of rail anchor to the base flange of arail, the long arm 33 is first hooked over one flange of the rail baseand the bar moved transversely thereof, until the jaw 31 clears theopposite edge of the rail base. At this point of the application, thejaw 31 can be moved over the adjacent edge of the rail base so as toembrace it in a manner indicated in Fig. 5, whereupon the resilient arm33 may be pressed downwardly across the edge of the rail base andcaused, by reason of the engagement of the cam surface 36, to be flexedoutwardly relative to the rail base until one of the notches 34 or 35,as the case may be, snaps into engagement with the rail base flange towhich the anchor is applied. Vvhen the anchor is in its appliedposition, the jaws 31 and 32 grip one flange of the rail base by reasonof a rotary action to which they are subjected during the downwardpressing of the arm 33. The downward flexing of the arm 33, togetherwith the bearing of the hook 230 against the opposite edge of the railbase exerts a transverse spring grip.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided with meansfor gripping one flange of a rail base and with a resilient lockingportion adapted to be flexed transversely of the rail into lockingengagement with the other'flange of the rail base; said lockingportionbeing formed with a series of shoulders, one of which projectsover the upper corner of the base flange engaged, when the anchor is inits normally applied position, and another of which provides clearancebetween the adjacent edge of the rail base and said locking portionduring upward movement thereof relative to its normally appliedposition.

2. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith means for gripping one flange of a rail base and with a resilientlocking portion adapted to be sprung outwardly from the rail intoclamping engagement with the other flange of said base; said lockingportion being formed with a series of shoulders, one of which projectsover the upper corner of the base flange engaged, when the anchor is inits normally applied posit-ion, and another of which provides clearancebetween the adjacent edge of the rail base and said looking portionduring upward movement thereof relative to its normally appliedposition.

3. A rail anchor comprising a downwardly bowed under-rail portionprovided at one end with means for gripping one flange of a rail baseand at the other end with a resilient locking portion adapted to besprung outwardly from the rail into clamping engagement with theotherflange of said base; said locking portion being provided with aseries of shoulders, one of which projects over the upper corner of thebase flange engaged, when the anchor is in its normally appliedposition, and another of which provides clearance between the lowercorner of the base flange engaged and that portion of the downwardlybowed under-rail portion adjacent said lower corner of the rail base,whereby the said locking portion of the anchor may be moved verticallyof the rail without moving said bowed portion into contact with the edgeof the rail base.

4:. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith a hook portion for gripping the top and bottom surfaces of oneflange of a rail base and provided at the other end with a resilientlocking portion adapted to be sprung outwardly from the rail intoclamping engagement with the vertical edge thereof; said locking portionbeing formed with a series of shoulders, one of which projects over theupper surface of the last mentioned flange of the rail base, when theanchor is in its normally applied position, and another of whichprovides clearance between the lower edge of said base flange and thesaid adjacent part of said locking portion.

5. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided with meansadapted on vertical movement of the under rail portion to clamp thebase, one end of said under rail portion being formed with a series oflook-- ing shoulders for engagement over the upper corner of a rail baseflange and with a series of flat bearing surfaces for bearing againstthe vertical edge surface of said base flange and adapted to be flexedoutwardly during said vertical movement to'engage said shoulderssuccessively with said corner portion of said base.

8. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided with meansadapted on upward movement of the under rail portion to clamp the base,one end of said under rail portion. being formed with a series oflocking shoulders for engagement over the upper corner of a rail baseflange and with a series of flat bearing surfaces for bearing againstthe vertical edge surface of said base flange and adapted to be flexedoutwardly during said vertical movement to engage said shoulderssuccessively with said corner portion of said base.

7 A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith a hook shaped jaw adapted on vertical movement of the under railportion to clamp the base flange of the rail, the other end of saidunder rail portion being provided with a series of locking shoulders forengagement over the upper corner of a rail base flange and aseries offlat bearing surfaces for envgagement with the vertical edge surface ofsaid flange and adapted to be flexed outwardly during said verticalmovement to engage said shoulders successively with said corner portionof said base. i

8. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion providedat one endwith a hook shaped jaw adapted on upward movement of the under railportion to clamp the base flange of the rail, the other, end of saidunder. rail portion being provided with a series of locking shouldersfor engagement over the upper corner of a rail base flange and a seriesof flat bearing surfaces for engagement with the vertical edge surfaceof said flange and adapted to be flexed outwardly during said upwardmovement, to engage said shoulders successively with the upper cornerportion of said base.

9. A rail anchor'comprising a yoke bowed downwardly relative to the railand formed at one end with means adapted on upward movement of the otherend to clamp one base flange and provided at said other end with aseries of shoulders, one of which engages over the upper edge of thesaid other base flange and another of which provides clearance betweenthe said other base flange and an adjacent portion of the yoke, and acam surface adapted to press against the rail base to flex the shoulderend of the yoke outwardly relative to the rail during the applyingmovement of the anchor.

' 10. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith means for gripping the top and bottom surfaces of one base flangeof a rail base, and formed at the other end with means engaging themarginal upper portion of the other base flange to hold said grippingmeans turned about an axis extending longitudinally of the rail, theunder rail portion of the anchor being bowed downwardly to provide a tieabutment, the outer portion of said bowed part of the anchor beingsubstantially par-- allel 'to the vertical edge ofthe rail base, wherebythe said locking end of the anchor may be moved vertically from itsapplied position without pressing the curved inner surface of said bowedportion against the bottom surface of the rail base.

11, A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith means movable into gripping engagement with the top and bottomsurface of the rail base byupward swinging movement of the other.

end of the anchor and provided at said other end of the anchor with acam surface. adapted to flex said end outwardly relative to the otherbase flange of the rail during said upward movement and provided with ashoulder for engagement with the marginal upper surface of the baseflangeto hold the first mentioned gripping means in gripping engagementwith the rail base and provided provided between the said verticalsurface, of the rail baseand an ad aCent portion of also with an ofisetportion providing a clearance between a portion of the rail base and theoutwardly flexible end portion of the anchor.

12. A rail anchor comprising an under; rail portion formed at one endwith means for gripping the top and bottom surfaces of one flange of arail base and formed at the other end ith a resilient locking tailadapted to be flexed outwardly into engagement with the rail base, saidtail being formed with a series of notches, one of which provides ashoulder for engagin over the upper corner of the rail base and providesalso a vertical surface for bearing, against the vertical edge of thelast men tioned flange, and another of said notches being formed at thelower end of said vertical bearing surface, whereby clearance is theanchor. V

13. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith a hook portion for gripping the top and bot-r2 tom surfaces of oneflange of a rail base and provided at the other end with a resilientlocking portion adapted to be sprung outwardly from the rail intoclamping engagement with the edge portion there- 96 of; said lockingportion being provided with a series of notches providing shoulders forengagement over the upper longitudinal corner of the last mentionedflange of the rail when the anchor is in its applied posi--, }00 tion,said shoulders being spaced apart a distance less than the thickness ofthe rail base flange at the point engaged.

14. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith means, 106 adapted on downward movement of the other end of saidunder rail portion to base flange upon the downward movement of theother end of said under rail portion, said last named end portion beingprovided with a series of notches for looking engagement with the otherbase flange of the rail and a cam surface intervening between saidnotches. V

16. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion provided at one endwith a hook portion for clamping engagement with the marginal portion ofone base flange of a rail and at the other end with a series of notchesproviding rail base engaging surfaces adapted, on downward movement ofthe last mentioned end portion of the anchor, to successively engage theedge portion of the other base flange of the rail to maintain said hookin its rail clamping engagement, the distance between the rail engagingportions of the opposite ends of said anchor being such that the notchedend portion is flexed outwardly from the rail base in forcing the anchorto its applied position.

HAROLD Gr. WARE.

